As the No. 1 men's tennis doubles match against the University of Rochester last Saturday entered its final stages, the score was tied at seven and had not seen a break of serve. That was until a desperation lob shot by Scott Schulman '09 from his toes dropped in behind 6-foot-4-inch rookie Ryan Kovaleski, giving Schulman and partner Simon Miller an 8-7 lead. "We stepped it up at 7-7 in a close game when we had to," Miller said. "We placed our returns a little better, and that game that we broke was probably our best game."

Schulman then fired an ace to close out the next game, giving the pair a 9-7 win en route to a Judges 6-3 victory over their University Athletic Association rivals. They are now 4-4 this spring after a 9-0 loss to Division I Boston College last Sunday, in which three of their original six starters did not play due to injuries.

The women's team defeated Rochester 8-1 last Saturday and is now 4-3, including last Tuesday's 5-4 loss to Babson College.

The men's team victory came with a cost, however. Miller suffered an Achilles tendon strain in his No. 1 singles match and did not play against Boston College. Coach Ben Lamanna said there is no timetable for his return.

"It's a huge loss for whatever amount of time he's out," Steven Nieman '11 said. "We really need him for singles, doubles and the overall atmosphere here at Brandeis. He really brings a lot of attitude and a lot of energy."

Schulman suffered a stress fracture in his shin and also sat out against Boston College, but Lamanna said he should play this weekend. The two joined Alex Neystat '10, who will miss the rest of the season and will likely have knee surgery this summer, and replacement Dor Almog '11, who has a hamstring problem, on the sidelines against Boston College.

The injuries forced Ian Reichek '11 and David Roffman '10, both of whom are normally reserves, into the lineup at No. 3 doubles against Boston College. They fell to sophomore Brian Garber and rookie Brendon Wong 8-1. In singles, no Brandeis player was even able to take a set off the Eagles in the loss.

Against Rochester, the Judges took two of three doubles matches, winning at No. 3 doubles while losing narrowly at No. 2 doubles.

But that was before Miller's injury during his No. 1 singles match against sophomore Brian Bowman. Miller was serving with a 4-3 lead when he slipped and turned his ankle chasing a ball hit out of play. He tried to continue playing after taking an injury timeout, but eventually retired after trailing 6-5.

"I'm pretty bummed," Miller said. "I was winning and just took a misstep. I got taped up and thought I could win another game to win the set and then retire after that, but it didn't turn out that way. I couldn't put any pressure on it to serve correctly."

Miller's injury, as well as Schulman's injury struggles in a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4 loss to rookie Bennett Peterson at No. 3 singles, put more pressure on Nieman at No. 2 singles, but he pulled away for a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Kovaleski. Mayur Kasetty '11 eventually clinched Brandeis' win, rallying to defeat rookie Patrick Sheehan 6-7 (2), 6-4, 6-2 at No. 4 singles.

The women's win last Saturday went more smoothly. The Judges won all three doubles matches en route to victory.

"Winning doubles the way we did, it's a telltale sign," Lamanna said. "That's how you sweep a UAA opponent. Doubles is huge in every match you play. It sets the tone."

No. 1 pair Colleen Donnelly '08 and Rachel Rosman '11 defeated rookie Lia Weiner and senior Alexa Perry 8-1 to set the tone, and the two continued their success in singles play. Rosman beat Weiner 6-2, 6-0 at No. 1 singles, and Donnelly topped Perry 6-1, 6-0 at No. 2 singles.

"[Rosman and Donnelly] were the stars today," Lamanna said. "[Rosman] was solid. [Weiner] was doing some really good tactical things, but [Rosman] had all the answers. [Donnelly] is in the best shape she's ever been in."

The women's team has home matches against Salve Regina University Thursday at 3 p.m. and Tufts University Saturday at 3 p.m., while the men's team will play Trinity College at home Saturday at 11 a.m. and Amherst College on the road Sunday at 10 a.m.